Noisy Sicce Syncra Silent 1.5 Return Pump

[JReef3]

I’ve posted about my initial install of this pump and later about the replacement pump install in my build thread with photos to document each step of the tank but thought I’d post the issue in a thread of its own for a bit more visibility rather than just buried in my build thread as I’m hoping others might have some experience and/or tips to share on this pump.

From my build thread: I installed this pump and it was noisy from the start. After some searching, it seemed it may just require a break-in period. I ran it for about 5 days with no improvement so I ordered another of the same pump from Amazon thinking I may have just gotten a defective one. One week later to the day, the initial pump was still noisy and the replacement arrived yesterday so I installed the replacement this morning. Same issue. I have of course installed the suction cup feet, ensured it is not touching walls of the tank/sump area, ensured the outlet hose and power cord are not laying against anything as much as possible, and I also took it apart and inspected it with no obvious signs of defect. I’ve even held it in the middle of the display tank running to eliminate any chance of vibrating against anything. It doesn’t sound like a lawn mower or anything but I can hear it quite clearly humming/vibrating while sitting on the sofa about 15 feet away. Are my expectations too high for the Sicce Syncra Silent 1.5 or is something else going on? Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

Is it the pump itself or is the operation of the pump causing something else to vibrate? I have a problem with my Sicce SDC 9 causing vibrations through parts of my sump despite silicone feet, pads, etc.

 

[Little c big D]

I have the same pump and I can't hear it over my Skimmer. I've just now stopped the skimmer to listen and there's some vibration but not terrible. It might be the expectations.

 

[JReef3]

Is it the pump itself or is the operation of the pump causing something else to vibrate? I have a problem with my Sicce SDC 9 causing vibrations through parts of my sump despite silicone feet, pads, etc.

I just pulled the pump from the sump area, removed the outlet hose, outlet fitting, the rear cover, and front inlet grill/cover so there was nothing except the impeller that could cause vibration/noise. I then suspended it in my display tank and turned it on. It was quite a bit quieter and the noise level was reasonable at that point. I did notice that it was vibrating quite a bit in my hand so that vibration may be transferring to the end caps and to the plastic AIO divider on my tank through the return hose.

 

[JReef3]

I have the same pump and I can't hear it over my Skimmer. I've just now stopped the skimmer to listen and there's some vibration but not terrible. It might be the expectations.

Thanks very much for checking. I think, based on my above experiment, that it’s both a combination of vibration transferring to other parts and my expectations. So many people speak so highly of these pumps and “silent” is in the name so perhaps my expectations were too high. I’m just surprised I can hear such a small pump running 15 feet away on the sofa. I currently only have one Koralia for flow in the DT and I don’t currently have a skimmer so the tank is nearly silent aside from this return.

 

[blaxsun]

If you want a truly “silent” Sicce, you need one of the SDC controllable models. @60% my SDC 6.0 barely produces an audible hum (mostly due to vibrations in the sump), and at speeds less than @40% you can hardly hear it at all.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Every product has an occasional dud. Have you contacted support?

 

[blaxsun]

Every product has an occasional dud. Have you contacted support?

They can generate a lot of vibrations/noise. A similarly-sized SDC variant is noticeably quieter.

 

[Wasabiroot]

They can generate a lot of vibrations/noise. A similarly-sized SDC variant is noticeably quieter.

Fair enough. I bought a sicce nano to add circulation to my refugium and I can't even hear it when I plug it in, but I figured maybe it was just a bad unit? Either way I feel the annoyance

 

[JReef3]

Every product has an occasional dud. Have you contacted support?

You’re right. No, I didn’t contact support since there’s only one moving part, I did some troubleshooting on my own and then ordered a replacement after inspecting the first and giving it a week to break in. The second is a bit more quiet but still not as quiet as I had expected.

 

[jrill]

I've been through two of those looking for a silent one. That hum is annoying. Just sent my second one back. Silent my ****

 

[JReef3]

Glad to hear I'm not entirely crazy. When did you get yours? Maybe they put out a bad batch or something? Perhaps an issue with calibration of some machine during production??

 

[vtecintegra]

I've got several of those pumps and two skimmers that use them. They are hit or miss on how quiet they are. The skimmer pumps are loud, and another feeding a scrubber vibrates badly.

 

[JReef3]

I've got several of those pumps and two skimmers that use them. They are hit or miss on how quiet they are. The skimmer pumps are loud, and another feeding a scrubber vibrates badly.

I think that's exactly the issue, the pumps seem to be hit or miss like you said. Some people say they're great and I'm just not having that experience. Mine vibrates quite a lot, sometimes more than other times.

 

[blaxsun]

I had two (Sicce Silent 3.0 and 5.0), and they both hummed and had the potential to vibrate. The 5.0 was noticeably louder than the 3.0 (to be expected I guess). I decided to get rid of them and replaced the 5.0 (which was an upgrade for the 3.0) with an SDC 6.0.

The guy must be on crack, right? There’s like a $120 difference in price! Except, there’s method to my madness... The Sicce Silent 5.0 was running @108 watts and the Sicce SDC 6.0 running @45% only draws @22 watts, so it will actually pay for itself in a year. In fact, after 2 years the Sicce SDC 6.0 ends up costing $120 less than the Sicce Silent 5.0.

TLDR; Get a Sicce SDC 6.0. It ends up being cheaper after 2 years with electricity savings.

 

[JReef3]

The Sicce Silent 5.0 was running @108 watts and the Sicce SDC 6.0 running @45% only draws @22 watts, so it will actually pay for itself in a year. In fact, after 2 years the Sicce SDC 6.0 ends up costing $120 less than the Sicce Silent 5.0.

That's an interesting point. 108 W is a LOT of energy to use 24/7 so that sure would add up.

 

[blaxsun]

That's an interesting point. 108 W is a LOT of energy to use 24/7 so that sure would add up.

Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about it - then I was reviewing my outlet configuration in Fusion one day and noticed that the single Sicce Silent 5.0 was drawing more power than the Sicce SDC 9, Nyos Quantum 160 and pair of Nyos Torq reactors combined! It was costing something like $0.58 a day in electricity! The Sicce SDC 6 now costs $0.08 a day in electricity to run, so I’m basically saving $15 a month in electricity costs.

 

[tm041]

Bought a Sicce Syncra Silent 1.0 for my Evo 13.5. Pump is very loud. Tried using a silicone pad under the pump, also tried a sponge, used a silicone hose for the return and some silicon tape on the return (felt some vibration). Felt some vibration transferring to the stand. Put the whole tank on a silicone pad. Ensured no part of the pump was touching the sides. Opened a support ticket (Have not heard back yet - needed to translate into Italian). Took the pump apart and did not see anything out of the norm. Any other ideas? Thx.

Getting backing into aquariums after a 20 year absence.

 

[Little c big D]

Bought a Sicce Syncra Silent 1.0 for my Evo 13.5. Pump is very loud. Tried using a silicone pad under the pump, also tried a sponge, used a silicone hose for the return and some silicon tape on the return (felt some vibration). Felt some vibration transferring to the stand. Put the whole tank on a silicone pad. Ensured no part of the pump was touching the sides. Opened a support ticket (Have not heard back yet - needed to translate into Italian). Took the pump apart and did not see anything out of the norm. Any other ideas? Thx.

Getting backing into aquariums after a 20 year absence.

I just upgraded from a 1.5 to a 3.0.... same noise. I think it is just how they run tbh. Not that ite acceptable if you expect silence. Doesn't bother me much personally but it does seem noisy

 

[DatsoonDave]

Glad to hear I'm not entirely crazy. When did you get yours? Maybe they put out a bad batch or something? Perhaps an issue with calibration of some machine during production??

i have a Sicce on my waterbox, running less than a month. It's louder than my Nyos skimmer. It's more like an audible hum. I'll probably eventually pull it and use it as an emergency pump. I thought these things were more quite than this as well.